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Pope Francis' visit to Egypt

Pope Francis' visit to Egypt — Pope Francis meeting Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis meeting Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

A handout picture released by Egypt's Al-Azhar Media Centre shows Pope Francis (L) and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, posing for a photograph during a visit to the prestigious Sunni institution in Cairo on April 28, 2017. (AFP)

A handout picture released by Egypt's Al-Azhar Media Centre shows Pope Francis (L) meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, during a visit to the prestigious Sunni institution in Cairo on April 28, 2017. (AFP)

A handout picture released by Egypt's Al-Azhar Media Centre shows Pope Francis (L) standing next to Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, during a visit to the prestigious Sunni institution in Cairo on April 28, 2017. (AFP)

A handout picture released by Egypt's Al-Azhar Media Centre shows Pope Francis (L) meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (R), during a visit to the prestigious Sunni institution in Cairo on April 28, 2017. (AFP)

This handout picture released by the Vatican press office shows Pope Francis delivering a speech at the Sunni institution in Cairo as part of a two-days visit in Egypt, on April 28, 2017. (AFP)

Pope Francis hugs Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Al-Azharâ€™s grand imam, at Cairo's Al Azhar university, Friday, April 28, 2017. (AFP)

Pope Francis is welcomed upon his arrival at Cairo International airport, Egypt April 28, 2017. (REUTERS)

Pope Francis listens as the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar delivers a speech during a visit to the prestigious Sunni institution in Cairo on April 28, 2017. (AFP)

Updated 28 April 2017 20:44

April 28, 2017 20:13

CAIRO: Pope Francis flies to Egypt Friday for a visit aimed at fostering reconciliation with the Muslim world against the backdrop of recent jihadist attacks on the Middle East’s biggest Christian community.

The 80-year-old pontiff is due in Cairo around 1400 (1200 GMT) and his 27 hours on Egyptian soil will include a meeting with the grand imam of the Al-Azhar mosque, sealing a recent improvement in relations between Catholicism and the Sunni branch of Islam.